BAY CITY, MI — A Bay City woman who perpetrated a welfare scam has avoided jail, but owes a five-figure sum in restitution.

Bay County Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt on Monday, March 25, ordered Tashawn J. Davis, 39, to pay $20,599.82 in restitution. He also sentenced her to 36 months of probation and deferred 90 days in jail. Davis must also submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

Davis in January pleaded guilty to one count of welfare fraud more than $500, failure to inform. The charge is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. In exchange for her plea, prosecutors dismissed a count of welfare fraud more than $500, also a four-year felony.

At her plea hearing, the prosecution recommended Davis serve a maximum of 15 days in jail. They also recommended she pay a minimum $150 per month in restitution.

Charges were brought against Davis after the Michigan Department of Human Services alleged she applied for government assistance, then took advantage of the program by stealing a total of $20,763.89.

Davis received $27,019.89 in welfare between Oct. 1, 2008, and May 31, 2011, with DHS alleging only $6,256 of it was legitimate. When DHS approved Davis as a welfare recipient, the amount she was to receive was in part based on the fact that her son was living with her, court records show.

Davis was to report any changes in her household composition, an agreement she acknowledged by signing DHS documents on three occasions between June 19, 2008, and June 2, 2010, court records show. Davis’ son moved out of her house on Sept. 1, 2008, and went to live with his father in a different state, court records show.

Davis did not notify DHS that her son moved away, the agency alleged.

Interviewed by DHS investigators on June 13, 2011, Davis said her son came and went and that she didn’t know she had to report his moving away, court documents show.

Authorities issued a warrant for Davis’ arrest in March 2012. She voluntarily appeared for her arraignment on Dec. 26 and posted a $500 bond.